5 Questions With...Anne Marie Benard, CMG Houston

Learning from your peers is one of the best ways to see if you should get started with inbound marketing, or whether you're on the right path to building a solid lead generation strategy

That's why we started the "5 Questions With..." series. On today's edition, we got to hear from Anne Marie Benard, Director of Marketing Services for CMG Houston.

1. When did you get started with inbound marketing and what was the biggest factor in your reasoning to get started?

We first started exploring discussions back in Q4 2012, and launched our blog  - Houston Marketing Matters - in March of 2013. We weren't aware of any other media groups (our core competitors) with a blog or forum – so we wanted to be one of the first to market. Also, today's business owners are looking online for the products and services we know best – so it was a fantastic opportunity to be sure we serve up informative content where and when they want it. When people Google certain topics related to Houston and marketing – chances are – Houston Marketing Matters shows up above the fold.

See also: 7 Decisions to Make Before Starting Inbound Marketing

2. What has been your biggest challenge with inbound marketing and how were you able to overcome it?

The only real (manageable) challenge is ensuring I am constantly communicating with my internal writers…the folks I tap into here at CMG to produce content for us at a local level. Writing blog posts for Houston Marketing Matters is an additional task beyond everyone's day job, so it's a balance for me. How often can I tap into their writing skills? How can I ensure they write about topics that they are interested in? I want the writing experience to be an easy and enjoyable side project…not a stressful one.

See also: Is it Time for a Remodel of your Inbound Marketing Plan?

3. Where do you feel you've seen the most success with inbound marketing?

Most recently, we’ve seen a TON of success in our Marketing Moguls feature…where we highlight local marketing/business professionals by having them respond to a series of questions that address topics our target audience would be interested in. (In one of our most recent posts – we generated nearly 220 Facebook shares!)

See also: 5 Ways to Position Yourself as a Thought Leader

4. How has inbound marketing changed the way you market your brand or the way you approach marketing in general?

We feel that it amplifies our message to Houston businesses. Publishing a blog about marketing/sales best practices sends quite a message – that we are serious about what we do and thought-leaders in our discipline. It also allows us to nudge certain clients or prospects by publishing articles that target very specific areas of interest. It’s like a subliminal secret weapon.

See also: 6 Inbound Marketing Lessons We've Learned Since We Started LeadG2

5. What advice would you give to someone new to inbound marketing?

First - this is a project that requires collaboration between sales and marketing. Marketing takes it 50% of the way there -  with the focus on content, communication, and overall lead-generation…and sales contributes the 50% on the back half - following up on those leads and converting them into sales.  Second – BE patient. Inbound marketing should complement all the other on-the-streets lead-gen work that you’re doing. It’s not going to generate thousands of dollars right away.  It’s a strong, information destination designed for your top prospects in mind. It’s legitimization. It’s validation. It’s reputation management. It’s an opportunity for your business to be top of mind for prospects/clients when they begin their research journey on Google…something which has tremendous value and impact on your business.

See also: Five Characteristics of an Inbound Marketing Culture

Catch up on the rest of the series:

• 5 Questions With... Bill Fries, CEO of Hiregy
• 5 Questions With... Matt Mills, WTOP
• 5 Questions With... Matt Sunshine, President, LeadG2
• 5 Questions With... Piper Walker, The Weather Channel
• 5 Questions With...Sheryl Vieira, Caldwell Trust
• 5 Questions with... LeadG2's Very Own Brian Hasenbauer
• 5 Questions With...Mark Keaney, Greater Media Boston